Turkey as a sleep aid

AFISHIONADO
FALL 2011

The Thanksgiving Dilemma: Turkey as a sleep aid
All across Canada folks will soon gather to celebrate the bounty of the harvest, what this land has to offer us and to re-connect with families with good friend. It is perhaps of the most meaningful of all celebrations; it is non-denominational, without religious overtones and is all-inclusive. We connect with the land and sea, from where our food comes.
Thanksgiving, however, is not without its traditions, the most obvious being the turkey, the roast beast, the bird. I love stuffing, roasting and eating turkey but do not enjoy the sleepy and groggy feeling that I get afterwards. It is due to the naturally occurring Hydroxytryptophan, (5-HTP) an amino acid with a documented sleep inducing effect. Synthesized, it is also used as an antidepressant. So, if you would like to have your guests awake and up for some sprightly after-dinner conversation, why not consider wild BC salmon instead. Here’s a proven recommended recipe from the Epicurious site:

Roast tomatoes and prepare oil:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250°F.
Toss tomatoes with sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and arrange, cut sides down, in a small shallow baking pan. Heat oil in a 9- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook garlic, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in basil and whole oregano leaves, then pour oil over tomatoes. Roast tomatoes until very tender but not falling apart, 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours.
Transfer tomatoes with a spatula to a large plate, then pour oil through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl or measuring cup, discarding solids. Stir in chopped oregano, zest, juice, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.
Cook couscous:
Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then toast couscous, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and pale golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add broth, water, and salt and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed and couscous is al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes, then stir in 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon oregano oil. Season with salt.

Roast salmon while couscous stands:
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 500°F. Line a 17- by 12-inch shallow baking pan with foil.
Arrange salmon, skin side down, in baking pan, then drizzle with olive oil, rubbing it over tops of fillets, and sprinkle with salt. Roast salmon until just cooked through, 10 to 14 minutes.
Divide couscous among plates or, if using fillets, arrange on a platter. Lift salmon flesh from skin with a slotted spatula and transfer a fillet to each bed of couscous. Put 2 tomato halves on each plate, then sprinkle salmon with olives and drizzle with some lemon oregano oil.

Why Stikine River salmon has more Omega 3 oil than other wild salmon.

The wild Stikine River is one of the mightiest in North America. It moves through 610 km of gorges, falls, rapids and very swiftly running water until it drains into Wrangell Sound in Alaska. It is considered one of the last truly wild major rivers of British Columbia. When spawning salmon return to the rivers where they were born they stop feeding as soon as they enter fresh water. The homing instinct is a miracle of the natural world. These salmon have completed a sea journey of thousands of kilometres and are coming home to spawn and die. The amount of body fat a salmon stores is directly proportional to the length and difficulty of its upstream journey to its spawning grounds. A Stikine River salmon has much more body fat and Omega 3 fats than its southern cousins who may only travel several kilometres to spawn.

The Sockeye Express: how to get your teeth into some fantastic wild fish
It has been a couple of months since Kingston’s Findlay Foods began distribution of Great Glacier Salmon. After ten years developing our business in eastern Ontario, we are now associated with a company that possesses an infrastructure capable of handling premium frozen foods properly.
Your contact at Findlay is Laurie Mclean: 613-384-5331 or lauriem@findlayfoods.com
Delivery can be arranged to your home or office or you can pick up at Findlay’s warehouse on Justus Drive. It’s best to pre-arrange pickups with Laurie. You can certainly contact Richard anytime for tips and recipes using premium wild seafood: saxe.richard@gmail.com
Delivery is available throughout eastern Ontario, to Toronto, Peterborough and Ottawa. At this stage, only full cases will be shipped. So call your family and friends, form a buying group and start to eat healthy with wild Pacific salmon!

LOCAL EVENTS TO WATCH FOR:
Saturday, October 29: Mill Street Café, Sydenham. Another wild seafood tasting extravaganza is planned. This will be the fifth time we will be hosting at Mill Street. Contact them today to reserve as this event always sells out quickly. Richard is in the kitchen creating some delicious seafood treats. Just $45 for a five course tasting menu that will sample the best of what the Pacific has to offer. http://www.desertlakegardens.com or 613-376-1533

Tuesday, November 1: Auberge de France, Belleville. Richard is participating in a cooking class with Chef Jean-Marc Salvagno and a winemaker who will offer suggestions on wine pairings. Learn proper fish preparation and the secrets of cooking wild Pacific Salmon simply but flavourfully. Contact 613.966.2433 or visit http://www.aubergedefrance.ca to sign up. Again, there is limited space available so please do not be disappointed… call now.